It started with an idea to create something better, and to be fair nothing in my background would have ever suggested that I would one day invent and design kitchen products. Life certainly can take us on unexpected twists and turns which most of you probably already know.
Throughout the years I have held different jobs, worked from the ground up in a family business as well as finally owning more than one small business. I admit full heartedly that owning a small business is not for the faint of heart. Some days require you to have a certain amount of grit; the kind of grit that you never even knew you possessed. My younger self would have never guessed or imagined how much failure is involved in finding my way forward. There is a great quote by Kerwin Rae, “The key to success is failure. And the more you fail, and the faster you fail, the quicker you get there. Learn to love the failure”. This statement took me a long time to process. I have an introverted A-type personality who typically did not have a great relationship with failure. The evaluation of this has taught me that we only learn by making mistakes. It is the risk in trying, persevering through a challenge or obstacle and how we adapt to recover afterward that shows us the way forward.
What does this all mean? I feel that it represents growth. We are all here to find our way through growing into the best version of ourselves. For myself, I love that I own my business and revel in finding solutions. There are also days where I scream in frustration when I am in the middle of something that I am yet to figure out or to even see clearly; usually frustration shows up at the precise moment right before a breakthrough occurs. The moral of my story is to accept exactly where I am in any given moment, to continue to question myself and simply ask ‘What is this teaching me?’ during times of conflict or challenges and to also hold space to acknowledge how far I have come. There is a beautiful balance between where we once were and where we now find ourselves.
My hope is that you may catch a glimpse of this beauty for yourself; from wherever you are at.
Jennifer